Historic Preservation

The title of this post may appear to be boring but you have to take into account that there is so much that goes into it.  It is not just the act of historic preservation, but also the movement.  I'm learning this because it is what I am writing my research paper on.  While there are so many books, articles, and legislation written on this topic, the part I find the most interesting is how it came to be and took root in the United States.  Anyone who has traveled to France, England, Italy, Greece, or anywhere else in the world or even seen pictures of historic places and ruins knows the importance of history to those places.  The preservation of these places began centuries ago because of the connection people of that time had to their past.  However, historic preservation in the United States is a relative newcomer to the historic preservation movement.  For anyone interested in historic preservation, I suggest reading the book entitled, The Antiquities Act: A Century of American Archaeology, Historic Preservation, and Nature Conservation edited by David Harmon, Francis P. McManamon, and Dwight T. Pitcaithley.  In the first chapter alone, the editors chart the progress and issues that inspired well to do people at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to propose a federal act to preserve the ruins and artifacts found that once belonged to the Native Americans and earliest settlers.  This was especially an issue in the southwest in regards to the ruins of Spanish churches and Pueblo structures.  The story doesn't end there but continues to document the growth of the historic preservation movement in the states.  For more information on the progression, read this book and check out the links below of the national legislation regarding the preservation of our historic landmarks.

Links:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-109hhrg25541/pdf/CHRG-109hhrg25541.pdf

http://webharvest.gov/peth04/20041015162034/http://www.achp.gov/caselaw96-00.pdf

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-108hhrg87420/pdf/CHRG-108hhrg87420.pdf